After the fire
by Jlo06
Summary: Contains ES. What happend after the 'Inferno' Read on to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned.

Pairing: Emma/Shalimar

A/N: This is setafter the episode Inferno from Season 2. Shalimar risked her life to save Emma from the fire surrounding her. This is what happened after the event…

----------------------------------------

After the experience Emma and Shalimar had just encountered they were both lucky to be alive. On the Double Helix flying home Emma had the widest grin formed across her face and was looking at Shalimar. Shalimar could feel eyes burning in the back of her head so she turned round and caught Emma staring at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" Shalimar questioned…."and why are you smiling like that?"

"Just thinking what a hero you are to me, I mean you did save my life after all." Emma replied.

"Oh right, I see. Well it was nothing really anybody else would have done the same."

Emma looked puzzled, "Shal, you do realise that fire is your biggest fear and you overcome it."

"Yeah I suppose so, Emma you're my best friend you know I'd do anything for you." Shalimar smiled.

Emma stood from her seat and walked beside Shalimar, she bent down to give her a big hug. She whispered "I'm really grateful Shalimar, you don't know what it means to me. Thank you so much."

Emma pulled away and Shalimar looked at her, with the slightest evidence of a smile. "You're more than welcome."

With one final look Emma returned to her seat and the rest of the journey was spent in a comfortable silence.

----------------------------------------

Chapter 2 coming soon.

**A/N: I know it's only a small chapter but this is my first ever piece of Fanfiction. All feedback and reviews would be very much a****ppreciated**.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

----------------------------------------

They got back to the sanctuary and Adam informed them that Brennan, Jesse and himself would be spending the night at one of the safe houses to sort out some problems.

Emma went to her room to have a shower, Shalimar did the same. Later on Emma went to the kitchen and started to prepare some dinner for Shalimar and herself. Ten minutes later Shalimar came into the kitchen. Emma jumped up and down shouting, "You're just in time for dinner, come on, take a seat." Emma waved her arm to the empty chair.

Shalimar laughed as she sat down. Emma placed the plates of food down and prepared a couple of glasses of wine. She handed one to Shalimar and sat down herself.

"Well someone certainly went to a lot of trouble didn't they?" Shalimar chirped.

Emma smirked and picked up her glass. "A toast, to the woman who saved my life; my best friend and one and only hero."

Shalimar blushed at the 'toast' and they clinked glasses, they enjoyed their meal and didn't stop talking. They they had some chocolate cake that Emma had made earlier that day. After the dessert Shalimar started to speak, "Wow Emma that has got to be the best meal I've ever had. You didn't need to spend time cooking it for me though."

"Hey! I owe you one and anyway it's no hardship I enjoyed making it and I'm glad you approve as well."

"Let me help you clean up."

"Don't worry I did manage to make the meal by myself."

"Honestly, I don't mind, I want to help you."

They spent some time cleaning and washing up and then they went to the living room and sat on the sofas there. It had been such a long day and both of them were still really tired so they just rested there for a while in silence.

It was in this instance that Emma really thought to herself what a great person Shalimar was. She started to reminisce about all of the fun they had together. Out of everyone in Mutant X they were the closest pair. They shared everything ranging from clothes to makeup. Then all of a sudden, the Inferno event washed over her mind again, it was times like these when she hated her Psionic ability

_She could feel the heat against her skin, her palms sweaty and vision blurred. The fumes of smoke were literally choking her, and then a flash of gold appeared. She knew straight away it was Shalimar…"Shalimar help me, help me please." She cried out. Then she was outside with Shalimar next to her holding her arm. "How did you…" Emma was cut off by Shalimar. "I guess my fear of losing you, was stronger than my fear of the fire." Shalimar then wrapped her arms around Emma and for the first time in a long while Emma felt safe and protected. She felt like no one or anything could ever hurt her as long as she was with Shalimar._

Emma felt her heart pounding and it wasn't because she was scared, she felt love. Of course, she knew she loved Shalimar, they were best friends, and it's a perfectly normal feeling. Only this time it was something much more than that. She never really thought she had these types of feelings before but it felt so right. They both understood each other and she had never met anyone like Shalimar before. What was she thinking? Shalimar was just her friend, she had never been with a woman before and she had certainly not felt like this about another woman. What was happening to her? She couldn't understand why she was feeling like this. It must be a mix up of emotions, surely she couldn't love…she mustn't love Shalimar. It would ruin everything. She bolted upright and jumped to her feet as quickly as she could.

Shalimar; startled, said "What's wrong Emma? What's happened?" She looked with a growing concern on her face.

"Huh, what, oh erm…it's nothing I just…er…I just need some sleep. You know, what with nearly dying and everything." Emma replied quickly.

Shalimar stood up and moved to where Emma had moved. "Are you sure honey? You seem pale and different, talk to me Emma and let me help."

"Maybe later, but really I'm just tired, honestly, I need to rest, sorry."

"Okay then, well thanks again for the meal Emma and have a nice sleep." She reached over and hugged her.

"You too Shalimar and don't worry about me." She felt it again, safe in Shalimar's arms. She backed off and left the room, leaving poor Shalimar as confused as ever. She knew there was something more than Emma was letting on.

----------------------------------------

Chapter 3 coming soon.

**A/N: Please continue to review as it makes me more determined to do another chapter and get it to a higher quality, thankyou.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry it has been a while but I've been fairly busy. Please continue reading and i hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter Three**

----------------------------------------

It was past midnight and Emma had been in bed for twenty minutes, continually tossing and turning, trying to get rid of these feelings for Shalimar. She was just being silly; a relationship with her best friend wouldn't work. How would she tell Shalimar? She wouldn't, she would keep it bottled up and locked deep inside of her so that no one would ever know. She was good at keeping things secret but she also knew that this emotion would gradually eat her from the inside. Love hurts, and she knew that her love certainly would.

Shalimar had gone to her bedroom as well; there was no point in her staying up by herself. She wondered what was wrong with Emma, was it something she had said or done? She replayed the day's events and could not think of a legitimate reason why Emma would be acting strange towards her. She paced around her room as she knew she couldn't sleep. She hated seeing her best friend like this, and it hurt her that Emma wasn't able to tell her the reason why. She knew the burden of being a Psionic and for that she was grateful that she was a Feral. She also knew that Emma would need some time to figure out things for herself but she still had a gut feeling that Emma needed help on this one. Their evening had been perfect, they didn't stop talking or laughing. Shalimar thought how nice it was that they were able to spend some time together. It had been a while since they could enjoy each others company; what with the missions that kept cropping up.

It had only been another ten minutes, which now seemed liked an eternity to Shalimar. She was growing more frustrated by the minute and the fact that Emma was so close; it made her want to scream. She felt completely helpless and when her feral DNA started to kick in she was wild. Being so protective and territorial as she was, made her want to do something, she couldn't let Emma suffer anymore. Anyone could tell Emma wasn't her normal self. In total it had been half an hour since they both retreated to their rooms. Shalimar was now pounded her head and Emma was still contemplating all her emotions. Something ticked over in Shalimar and she had had enough, so she burst out of her room. She stormed up the hallway but then suddenly paused. She was outside Emma's door and she wondered whether invading her space would be the ideal thing to do. Emma had been thorough a lot today, would she be making matters worse by disturbing her now, Shalimar thought. She heard a soft sobbing and without thinking twice she burst through the door and saw Emma curled up in her bed sheets. She felt her heart break; she had never seen Emma this distressed and upset.

She walked slowly over to Emma, so she did not disturb her. She gently sat on the side of the bed and placed a comforting arm on Emma. Emma shifted away, started fidgeting, and then she shouted at her, "Go away, just leave me alone, I already told you!"

Shalimar just ignored the rants coming from her and stayed put. She whispered softly, "Emma honey, you can't pretend nothing is wrong, I know you keep things to yourself but I genuinely care for you. If you won't let me in how can I help you? All I want is to help you; no matter what the problem is."

Emma stopped moving at these words and gradually turned to face Shalimar. Tears were forming in her heavenly blue eyes and she looked at Shalimar intently. Shalimar bent down and embraced Emma in a tender and loving hug. The tears slid down Emma's face like a waterfall. She knew she had to tell Shalimar what her feelings were. She couldn't hide anymore, especially after the most loving words anyone had ever said to her.

Emma sat up slowly and leant against the headboard, Shalimar moved closer to Emma; still sitting on the edge of the bed. Shalimar waited patiently; she knew Emma was gathering her thoughts together. Emma took several deep breathes and looked down into her lap, twiddling her fingers nervously. She was trying to find the courage to tell her; this was going to be it. Shalimar would either love her; which would be ideal, or she would hate her and never want to speak or see her ever again; which would be a disaster.

After several more breathes Emma faced Shalimar and started to speak. "Shal, first of all you haven't done anything wrong. To be honest you have been my saviour for the day, I don't know what would've happened if you wasn't there. I didn't mean to go away so abruptly after dinner but there are so many things going on inside my mind. I know you tried to help but I couldn't tell you. In fact I'm still not sure whether I should tell you or not."

Shalimar made a slight gasping noise; it was a subtle plea to make Emma continue and tell her what was going on.

"Emma, please." Shalimar barely whispered and placed her hands on Emma's. Emma felt so insecure but feeling the warmth emitting from Shalimar's hands made her feel safe, yet again. How could someone have this kind of power over her and they didn't even realise it?

"I…do you promise that you won't be angry and run off?" Emma asked warily.

"Angry? Run away? Emma, I don't understand why would I…?" Shalimar was quickly interrupted.

"Because what I'm about to tell you is going to affect you in one way or the other. I've tried so hard to keep this to myself but I just don't have the strength to carry such a thing."

Shalimar looked dazed; she did not know where this conversation was heading.

"What thing? Em, what aren't you telling me?"

"After the fire something happened inside of me..." Shalimar looked questionably at Emma. "It made me realise something and it wasn't until today that I realised how strong this feeling is. Shalimar, you see the thing is, I…er…I…I've got these feelings and the fact is they're erm…" Emma always jumbled up her words when she nervous, she was also blushing and feeling flustered which added to the frustration of getting her words out. Shalimar noticed the pause and knew Emma was having difficulty telling her, she squeezed her hands in a reassuring manner. Emma gulped and wiped her forehead as a thin layer of perspiration was forming there.

The build up of unshed tears started to form again in Emma's eyes. "Shal, I love you. I'm sorry please don't be angry at me and I understand if you don't feel the same but I just can't keep this to myself anymore and I think you have a right to know." Emma quickly said in one breath whilst tears were streaming down her face. All of the pent up emotion she had been hiding was now in the open air.

Shalimar moved back and tried to recollect everything Emma had just said. She was trying to rearrange what she had heard into coherent sentences to make sense of it all. She was now even more puzzled than ever. She closed her eyes and felt softness on her right cheek; a gentle and almost timid kiss. She reopened her eyes and looked Emma, blinking uncontrollably fast to make sure she was actually awake. Emma retreated and waited for Shalimar to speak.

"_I love you."_

The three words echoed in her head and then it suddenly hit her, it all made sense now… Emma calling her a hero, the dinner she had prepared, then suddenly not wanting to spend time with her and the 'feelings' Emma had been hiding. Shalimar wondered what impressions she had given Emma to possibly think that she was interested in her as more than a friend. On the other hand she had always cared and comforted Emma when she was feeling down and vice versa.

"Emma, I didn't realise that you felt this way. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Well, I didn't know how you would react and now I wish I hadn't said a thing because you probably hate me."

Shalimar smiled sweetly and said, "Emma, I could never hate you, ever. I've never considered being with anyone from Mutant X, let alone a female. I know that I love you because you're my best friend and I cherish every moment that we spend together but I just don't know if I can do this. It's not everyday I go out with a woman and I can't lose you as a friend. You mean too much to me.

Emma's ears tweaked; does this mean that she might be slightly interested in me? "Shal, no one else has ever had this affect on me. When I'm with you I feel safe and protected. It feels like nothing bad could happen and now, more than ever, my heart pounds so hard every time I think of you."

Shalimar stared directly into Emma's eyes, for some reason she knew that she may actually like Emma more than she had been letting on as well. She placed her hand on Emma's cheek and caressed the smooth skin beneath her. Then without hesitation she moved her head towards Emma and planted a kiss on those soft velvety lips. It lasted a mere second as she wasn't sure why she was doing this. Emma was taken aback, could this possibly be her dream coming true? Emma then wrapped her arms around Shalimar's neck and pulled he forward, they were so close their noses were almost touching. Emma returned the kiss on her lips and Shalimar responded immediately, it was fuelled by passion, desire and want. Emma run her tongue across Shalimar's bottom lip, she didn't need asking twice and gladly gave Emma permission to enter her mouth. Tongues collided in a whirlwind of love and neither of them had ever felt something like this. After a while they pulled apart to get some air. They both breathed heavily and their lungs were filled with lust.

Emma smiled, "I didn't think that you felt the same way."

"Me either, I've never done this before Emma but it feels so right." Shalimar blushed and faced the other way.

Emma reached up and cupped her hand around Shalimar's face; guiding it to look at her. "I'm glad you feel the same way because I don't know what I would do without you. You mean everything to me and I love you so much, more than words could ever say. You have to understand why I didn't tell you earlier, I was scared to lose you and I couldn't face the hurt or rejection"

Shalimar smiled with tears pouring down her face, "I'm glad you did tell me and you have no need to be hurt because I…Emma I love you too."

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing; the woman she loved, loved her in return, this was the most perfect moment in her life. They shared another passionate kiss and they knew that things were going to be fine.

"Emma, promise me that you will tell me what goes on in your mind."

"I will and we'll take each day as it comes. The truth is Shalimar; I've never done this before either. I never thought in a million years, that I would fall in love with a woman."

Emma pulled down her bedcover and Shalimar got it. They cuddled up together and neither one wanted to let go. This is where they wanted to be and Shalimar was so happy that Emma had opened up her heart to her. "I'm very happy that you've fallen in love with me." They lay facing each other, content with one another and with one last kiss; they fell asleep in each others arms.

This is a milestone for the both of them. Neither of them had been in a relationship with a woman before. What an experience this was going to be…

----------------------------------------

**A/N: Please continue to review, I'm not sure whether to continue the story or leave it as it is. I was thinking about another chapter and the reaction of the other members. Any suggestions would be great.**


End file.
